Sage Grouse Nesting & Winter Surveys with Pointing Dogs

Sage grouse compliance is one of the most consequential pieces of permitting for industrial development across the West, and it’s also where Aster Canyon does some of its most specialized work. Our nesting and winter surveys are conducted with trained pointing dogs, a field method that finds birds other survey approaches routinely miss, giving developers a more accurate, more defensible picture of what’s actually on their site.

What Sage Grouse Surveys Involve

Sage grouse present different compliance challenges depending on the season, and our survey approach is built around that. Core elements include:

• Nesting season surveys to locate active nests and incubating hens
• Winter surveys to identify wintering concentration areas and habitat use
• Lek counts and breeding activity documentation during spring display season
• Habitat use mapping tied to survey findings
• Reporting formatted to support permitting, seasonal timing restrictions, and agency coordination

Why We Use Pointing Dogs

Sage grouse are notoriously difficult to detect on foot alone. Hens sit tight on nests, and both sexes can go undetected in dense sagebrush cover even by experienced surveyors walking transects. Trained pointing dogs change that. A pointing dog works scent rather than sight, locating birds that would otherwise be missed entirely, then holds point rather than flushing the bird, giving our biologists the chance to confirm a nest or bird location without disturbing it unnecessarily.

This approach is not common in the industry, and it’s one of the reasons operators and agencies alike have come to trust our survey results. A missed nest during a walked survey isn’t just a data gap, it’s a compliance risk that can surface later in the project when it’s far more disruptive to address. Pointing dogs meaningfully reduce that risk.

Why It Matters for Industrial Projects

More reliable compliance data. A survey method that actually finds the birds present gives developers a far stronger basis for permitting decisions than a method that may be missing a meaningful share of them.

Fewer surprises mid-construction. Discovering an active nest after work has started, because an earlier survey missed it, can halt a project altogether. A more thorough survey up front reduces that risk substantially.

Seasonal timing restrictions done right. Nesting and winter concentration areas both carry specific timing restrictions under most permitting frameworks. Accurate survey data ensures those restrictions are applied to the right areas, not overapplied out of caution or underapplied out of missed detections.

Credibility with regulators. Agencies that review sage grouse compliance work recognize the difference a thorough, well-documented survey makes, and that credibility carries forward into future permitting on the same project or in the same region.

What We Provide

• Nesting season surveys using trained pointing dogs
• Winter concentration area surveys
• Lek count and breeding season documentation
• Habitat use mapping and reporting
• Guidance on seasonal timing restrictions specific to your project area

Who This Serves

Oil and gas operators developing in sage grouse habitat across Wyoming and the broader Rockies, and any industrial developer whose project falls within sage grouse range and needs accurate, defensible survey data to support permitting.

Get Started

If your project needs sage grouse nesting or winter survey work, we bring a specialized field approach that finds what other methods miss. Contact us to discuss your project.